Gardening Blog

I spent some time gardening this weekend, and finally got around to weeding my pumpkin patch and low and behold I discovered a wee little pumpkin growing.

Earlier this spring, I bought a package of Mr. Fothergills ‘Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin’ seeds and sowed five seeds indoors. Once they sprouted, I nurtured them lovingly until I was able to transfer them outside. Three of the five plants survived the great outdoors and have continued to thrive. Since we had so much rain this summer, I didn’t really pay much attention to my little pumpkin plants since I didn’t have to worry about watering them.

I’ve had loads of flowers on the vines for the past month, but didn’t think I had any pumpkins bigger than a golf ball until I discovered this little guy who is now the size of a large baseball.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my pumpkin continues to grow over the next two months. I’ve never had much success growing pumpkins. Last year I tried growing a giant pumpkin and was very disappointed with my crop. I ended the season with one green pumpkin about the size of a football. Wish me luck!

Sometime between Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, something ate the base of my giant zucchini plant and it’s now dying a slow death. My guess is the squirrels got hungry, because I found a half-eaten cucumber nearby. I feel so defeated! It was still growing zucchinis for me, too. I’m glad I’m not depending on my garden to feed me!

Other casualties in my gardens include one of my cedars, a clematis and the cilantro I was so proud of at the beginning of the season. I’m not sure why my cilantro decided to call it a day, but my neighbour told me that clematis’ like a plant in front of them so that their roots are shaded, so maybe that’s why it didn’t continue to flourish. And my mulberry shaded my cedar maybe a little too much, so if I plant another, I’ll have to be sure to trim it back and give it more water. Luckily the other cedar still seems fine. Hopefully it will make it through its first winter!

Tis the season to enjoy the backyard and all the work you’ve put into the garden. We’re having a big summer bbq party on Saturday and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain.

I’ve trid to keep up with my weeding, deadheading, and other garden chores, but it’s amazing what still needs to get done outside in the next few days. The grass needs to be cut, the patio swept, gardens weeded, phlox tied up, apples picked from the lawn–we have a huge apple tree in our yard, which is lovely, but the lawn looks like a minefield of apple bombs that hurt when you step on them.

And then the menu needs to be decided. Luckily local produce is in season at the farmer’s market. I’m sure fresh corn on the cob, beans, tomatoes, and peaches will grace the table.

If you’re looking for some great backyard party tips, check out these great articles at CanadianGardening.com. I know I’ll be reading them in the next day or two!

Today I had the pleasure of getting out of the office with Canadian Gardening magazine editor Erin McLaughlin and heading to St. Catharines for an event put on by Stokes Best and President's Choice (parents of my zucchini plant). The event was held at Stokes` Trial Farm where they scrupulously test all the different varieties that you may–or may not–see in stores in the next couple of years. Our important task was to provide our feedback on some of the vegetables they were testing for market under the Gigantico brand. We mostly ate tomatoes, but we also got to try some peppers, zucchini and cucumbers.

Erin, myself and Peter Cantley, head of Loblaws Lawn & Garden (photo take by Mark Disero of gardenwriters.ca)

Now I'm a very picky tomato eater. The mushy, mealy tomatoes you often find in grocery stores and in restaurants are often left at the side of my plate. That's why I love this time of year! Everything is crisp and sweet and most importantly, fresh and not trucked from hundreds of miles away. I'm excited for my own tomatoes, but I might be eating them in November again at the rate they're going.

What I found funny was that some of the tomatoes I absolutely loved got a lower rating from the other garden writers and the ones I wasn't as excited about ranked as favourites for them. For example, Stokes has a new tomato called `Tumbler` that was bred for hanging baskets. The little tomatoes were crisp and sweet and one of my faves for sure. Some of the feedback was that it was a good tomato for a hanging basket. I guess that means if it was on the vine, it wouldn't measure up. Yet I thought it was one of the most delicious! Some of my other favourites included the `Pepolino` and `Golden Honeybunch.`

The one tomato that seemed to get a unanimous thumbs up was the `Red Candy` grape tomato. It was sweet, firm, juicy and perfect for my picky tomato tastebuds.

Besides the amazing produce, what was also a treat was seeing how both flowers and fruits and vegetables are tested before being deemed suitable for our nearest nursery. The gardens were absolutely beautiful, even despite the excessive rains we've had this summer. I was happy that Stokes got a nice day so they could showcase their gorgeous and tasty gardens.

Will there be some good luck coming my way? Last night as I was out in the garden, minding my own business amid the plethora of weeds, I felt something fall on my back. As I stood up to look behind me, the giant zucchini leaves I had just cut sprayed water all over my capris from their tube-like stems. When I finally got around to peering at my back over my shoulder, I could see a couple of dark, mulberry-tinged splotches on my pristine white T-shirt. “Not again,” I sighed.

The last time I think I used my recliner, which was last summer, I fell asleep amid a pile of Martha Stewarts and Marie Claire Idees. When I awoke, that familiar-looking mulberry stain graced my shirt.

Since my white shirt was most definitely headed for the wash, I thought I might as well continue, so I stayed out outside weeding for another hour or so, wondering if the birds were up in the tree having a good old laugh at my expense.

We’re all familiar with the popular nursery ryhme, but nowhere in the original version does it mention anything about the spider biting an innocent gardener. Joan Brunet was weeding her garden in Oakville, Ontario when suddenly she was bitten on the finger by a black widow spider. She panicked and shock the spider off her hand, but by then the venom was already coursing through her veins. As she rushed into the house to call for help, she began to sweat and her vision blurred. By the time the ambulance arrived, Brunet says her body felt like ‘jelly’ and she’d lost control of her extremities. Doctors were stumped and they had to call in an entomologist to determine that it was indeed a black widow spider bite. After a two week hospital stay, Burnet is only just starting to recover feeling in her legs.

Now I’m a firm believer in coexisting peacefully with the creatures and insects in my garden. In fact, spiders are beneficial because they catch all sorts of annoying insects in their webs. But I never thought that a spider living in my backyard could be so dangerous. I had heard about a view black widow sightings in southern Ontario last year, but was shocked to learn of the effects of the venom.

So how do you protect yourself? Apparenetly wearing gloves will help. As well as being observant. The female black widow spider is the only one who bites. She has a small black body with long legs about 5 cm in length. She has red markings along the top of her abdomen and a red marking similar to an hour glass on her lower abdoment.

For all you hip gamers out there, I thought this might interest you. A media company recently announced they are releasing software that will function as a gardening guide for the Nintendo DS. The Royal Horticultural Society has given the ‘Gardening Guide – How to get green fingers’ their offical stamp of approval.

For those of you who don’t know what a Nintendo DS is, let me clairify. It’s the world’s bestselling portable game system. You’ve probably seen kids hanging around with their gaze glued to the small hand held device. The Gardening Guide is designed to be more of a guide then a game. You can plan an existing garden or design a virtual oasis. It has an encyclopedia of over 400 plants, information on pests and disease, as well as tips and advice on growing plants. The guide even comes with a virtual gardener named Paul, who will help you along your virtual gardening journey.

Unfortunately, the Gardening Guide has only just been released in the UK, but hopefully if it’s successful, they’ll soon bring it to North America.

Most people choose plants for their garden because of the showy and colourful flowers, but I love plants with unusual foliage, especially succulent plants with cool foliage. Hens and chicks are one of my personal favourite foliage plants in the garden.

One of the reasons why I love hens and chicks (Sempervivum) is because of their fleshy rosettes of leaves. Did you know that their botanical name Sempervivum means ‘always alive’. These hardy little perennials are drought tolerante and love full sun. In my rock garden, I have a dozen or so mature plants and two of them currently have flower spikes thrusting into the air. I’m always amazed at how sturdy they are. The top heavy spikes look like they could fall over at any moment. I love how unusual the flowers are. The cluster of starshaped flowers look like something out of a sci-fi movie.

If you’re looking for more information on how to grow your own hens and chicks in garden, check out some of these great articles at CanadianGardening.com.

My President's Choice Gigantico zucchini plant is a monster! Part of me is glad that a few of my plants didn't work out because this thing is taking over! I picked my first two zucchinis this week. However both times, I broke off the tip of the vegetable. Does anyone have any advice on how to pick them so they end up whole?

By the way, my zucchinis were delicious! I made both into raw `noodles` with my Joyce Chen spiral slicer last night, added some carrots and a sweet vegan ‘Pad Thai’ sauce I had made and ate it all with a piece of barbecued salmon. Yum!

In today’s fast paced society, do we ever stop to smell the roses anymore? We’re so busy working, shopping, driving – most of us have very muddy carbon footprints. Sustainable living is a phrase that’s been used a lot lately. Basically, it refers to a lifestyle choice that encourages people to live in harmony with nature.

A new initiative to promote sustainable living at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Burlington, Ontario is the Canadian Institute for Sustainable Biodiversity (CISB).